Brits planning holidays this summer will want to check their passport's validity; or risk being denied boarding their flight at the airport.
That's because new rules for Brits under Brexit impact whether your document is considered valid. In fact, one family of four was left £3,000 out of pocket after they fell foul of the little-known rule and were therefore unable to board their flight to Portugal.
That's because a number of EU countries in the Schengen Area require your passport to be no more than 10 years old from the point of issue.
However, most countries also require your passport to be valid for at least three (sometimes six) months after your dates of travel.
For example, if you were heading to Portugal which requires your passport to be valid three months after travel, to meet both sets of criteria your passport will need to have been issued nine years and nine months before your travel date.
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Previously, UK passports were issued and essentially allowed for this buffer, but following the UK's exit from the EU, they now need to meet the specific criteria.
It can be quite confusing, and passport validity requirements do differ depending on which country you are visiting. If you're due to travel, one of the best places to find out what the rules are is in the Foreign Office travel advice for your chosen destination. You can check this on gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice.
Your airline or tour operator should also be able to help advise on the passport requirements you need in order to be allowed to board a flight.
To give you a helping hand we've put together a guide to airlines' passport rules including easyJet, TUI, Jet2, British Airways and Ryanair (we've also included a list of popular holiday destinations and their current passport requirements, although you should always check the latest Foreign Office advice for any updates).
If you do need to get your passport renewed to meet the latest criteria, the Home Office has warned Brits that there could be a delay of around 10 weeks to get your document issued.
This is because the government is anticipating a backlog following the impact of the Covid pandemic. With travel restrictions having meant that Brits couldn't head abroad easily in recent years, some people didn't renew their passports, or simply haven't checked whether it's still valid.
It's estimated that over five million people have delayed their passport applications in 2020 and 2021.
If you've got a holiday booked, you won't want to risk being unable to go because you've left it too late - so make sure to check your passport now and give yourself a buffer.
Do confusing passport rules put you off booking a holiday? Let us know in the comments below.
